Wandering down the strip past the Love Boat I saw an old friend performing – the Amazing Alex – and stopped in for a review of the action.

Ancient history - by Protaras standards

We looked in on him a couple of years ago and so another visit seemed overdue.
There are a few acts that seem to be staples of the Protaras scene – Jimmy Spender (vocalist) and Ricky Allen (a Robby Williams tribute artist) as examples, plus one or two others that I am personally amazed and frankly disappointed to see still going as each season opens.
Still, with each new season we can always hope that the good will get better and the terminally naff will either give up and go home or else push off to Ibiza and bug the locals there.
Also it can be interesting to watch how an act matures, or else goes down like a rock in a pond.
I strolled in after the selection and induction procedures to find six or seven volunteers in dreamland, although a couple of these dropped out early on. The remaining four guys were kept plenty busy as the fast paced act progressed.
A number of Alex’s old favourites were still in evidence, I was happy to see the Skippy the nymphomaniac kangaroo was still going strong, and even stronger, and the naughty schoolchildren were good for a few laughs too. If you need evidence of how powerful this stuff is just look at the sudden change in attitude when two of the guys were told to fall in love and dance together….then wake up and be highly embarrassed about the whole thing.
I can’t go into details about the x-ray glasses gag but I DO know that someone was going to catch it big time from his girlfriend/fiancée when he got home for the impromptu hypnotic boob job from the hypnotist! And as far as lap dancing is concerned…..enough said!
Something new was the flaming trousers routine. When Alex beeped a horn, the chosen victim thought his trouser were on fire and bolted for the bar to find water to put the blaze out! Naturally the barman was delighted to help.
Probably the boob job fiancée should have been given the beeper to get her revenge BEFORE getting the boyfriend alone! If she had scorched his goolies sufficiently she might have forgiven him by the time they got back to the hotel. Other than this hindsight motivated thought, the act was well plotted and smoothly organised with instructions to the punters clear and precise and drawing plenty of laughs before the sleepers even got around to obeying them.
The act is light and friendly and bowls along at a good pace with plenty of positive feedback from a fascinated crowd.
I know Alex of old, but I can honestly say that regardless of this you should see the act and have a laugh. Some parts of the routine are a touch on the PG side, not least the vibrating chair finale, so taking the kids is maybe something to consider – but there is neither nudity (ever, I am told) nor strong language (on the night I saw the performance). Plus – as I have said in the past – if you hang around the pubs of Protaras at 11pm, what do you expect?
Alex has earned his place as one of the local faces on the entertainment scene – go and see how he does it and laugh like hell. Just remember if you do volunteer to be diplomatic about your best girl’s bra size whilst under the ‘fluence or face the consequences…….